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Jimmy Farace: Hours Fly, Flowers Die
by Jerome Wilson
There have been many recordings of saxophones backed by string sections since Charlie Parker experimented with the idea many years ago. The majority of those have featured tenor or alto sax players. However, on his debut album, Jimmy Farace demonstrates how the baritone sax can excel beautifully in this format. The full instrumental lineup on this set has Farace in front of a quintet, which also includes guitar and piano, meeting up with the KAIA String Quartet. The ...
Continue ReadingAnthony Bruno: Blue Velvet
by Dan McClenaghan
Chicago-based saxophonist Anthony Bruno wraps up a terrific triptych of album releases with 2025's Blue Velvet. The journey began with the release of his album Anthony Bruno (2023), followed by Cefalu (2024). All of these are on his Anthony Bruno Music label. Bruno counts Sonny Rollins as a major influence. He says as much in the All About Jazz spotlight interview (read it here). That influence shows from the get-go on Blue Velvet, with its high octane energy, the soul, ...
Continue ReadingChristian Dillingham: Halcyon
by Hrayr Attarian
On the intriguing Halcyon, his second release as a leader, Chicago bassist Christian Dillingham explores folkish motifs in a haunting ambience. The music here is a mix of his own compositions and covers of diverse backgrounds that showcase, once again, his versatility. The band has quite a unique sound, thanks to its collective virtuosity, with guitarist Matt Gold's incandescent pedal steel giving it a rootsy flavor. For instance, singer-songwriter Gillian Welch's “Lowlands" has a buoyant and a tad ...
Continue ReadingAlvin Cobb Jr: You'll Need This Later
by Hrayr Attarian
Atlanta-native, Chicago-based drummer Alvin Cobb, Jr puts his heart and soul into his debut You'll Need This Later. Using a melange of acoustic and electronic instrumentation as well as spoken word and singing, Cobb crafts an autobiographical album featuring several of Chicago's brightest rising stars. Cobb crafted these 13 originals on the basis of his journal entries, both written and recorded. “Before You Go" features vocalist Nola Adé whose chant floats over Cobb's rumbling polyrhythms. Pianist Julius Tucker's ...
Continue ReadingZachary Finnegan: Guidance and Gratitude
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Guidance and Gratitude from trumpeter and composer Zachary Finnegan delivers nine highly-textured and involving selections. Each selection presents itself with a story background in its title and each is a multi-layered composition, a micro-symphony. It is intelligent music. “Urban Motion" is an energetic, perhaps frantic, landscape with an ostinato six-note bed and a reflective interlude before Finnegan takes off over Camila Minnitte Pereyra's furious drumming that is negotiating with him. There is also an all hell breaks ...
Continue ReadingConstantine Alexander: Firetet
by Jack Bowers
On his debut recording, Firetet, Chicago-based trumpeter Constantine Alexander pays tribute to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the late great Clifford Brown and modern-day disciples Nicholas Payton and Sean Jones. Alexander does not do so by imitating anyone--that would be fruitless--but the swinging spirit of Blakey, Brown and the present-day artists already noted is ever- present on what is basically a bop-centered studio session reminiscent of the classic Blue Note and Prestige albums from the '50s and '60s. ...
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